NFL: Athletes' Reaction to George Zimmerman's Verdict Very Disappointing

By Daniel Chi

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

When the jurors announced their verdict on the highly-sensitive Trayvon Martin’s case that George Zimmerman is not guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Martin, where Zimmerman was accused of racial profiling and assumed the teenager was up to no good. Athletes’ reacted by making sure the whole world knew how they felt, and unleashed their wrath that not even the deepest abyss can hide Zimmerman from.

While their comments are understandable and have every right to be furious with the verdict, it is very alarming to see how these athletes, whom we hold to a higher pedestal, can make such comments that are very disappointing.

This case hit home to many people, and what happened to a teenager despite his color or race was a travesty. It is understandable how athletes reacted because in the end, we are all human beings and in certain moments, emotions run high. Zimmerman should not be a free man after what he did, and justice will prevail in the end, but killing Zimmerman or wishing death on anybody is not the answer.

Many athletes took to Twitter to share their thoughts and expressions.

Atlanta Falcons star wide receiver Roddy White, who is usually quiet, made an emphatic tweet to get his point across, “F–king Zimmerman got away with murder today wow what kind of world do we live in,” White said. ”All them jurors should go home tonight and kill themselves for letting a grown man get away with killing a kid.”

New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz became a fortuneteller on Twitter and offered up his prediction on Zimmerman’s future, “Zimmerman doesn’t last a year before the hood catches up with him.”

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker James Harrison made a comment on Twitter that was straight to the point, “Think I’ll go pick a fight and get my ass kicked then pull my gun and kill somebody and see if I can get away.”

Marcus Vick, who is the brother to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, gave out a thumping punch line for Zimmerman to remember, “Like I said before, a dogs life mean more then a human of color,” Vick said. ”My people’s did 2 years over some bullshit when this dude took a human life. Y’all MF’s sick. . . . Zimmerman u peace of DOG shit if I ever seen u I would run up n let u beat my ass then I’ll pop u right between the eyes u cricket Bitch.”

Did Zimmerman have this coming to him when he “Assumed” that Martin was up no good? Probably so. Did Zimmerman deserve to be ridiculed and hated by thousands for what he did? Yes. Athletes have every right to voice their opinions, but this is not acceptable and should be very ashamed in publicizing these type of comments in a world where social media is exposed everywhere.

With that being said, athletes are humans as well, but society holds them to a higher standard because they are role models to millions of fans around the world. What they say, how they react, what they believe in and how they conduct themselves impact kids all over the world. Its okay to be angry, but having self-control is the difference between everyone else and a role model.

These types of comments are unnecessary, and in fact very detrimental to Martin’s family. Athletes’ in the NFL should be embarrassed by how their fellow colleagues reacted. Being frustrated and angry is one thing, but putting up violent comments that aggravates the issue instead of helping the cause that is the bigger picture is saddening.

What Zimmerman did without a doubt was wrong on his part, but when athletes tell the world that violent acts should be solved with revenge and more bloodshed, in the end, we are no different from Zimmerman.

There is an old saying by the Chinese philosopher Confucius about revenge: “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves”.

Being an athlete is hard because even when everybody else gets to say whatever they want or how they feel, athletes are the ones that must stand higher than the public because they are in a position that impacts a much greater audience than just themselves. What they did wasn’t wrong, but how they went about it in expressing their feelings was very disappointing. There are always two ways to do things, and many athletes chose the path that was a very poor representation of the very league they uphold, which is the NFL.

Daniel Chi is an NFL writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielChi24, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+